Asian Human Rights’ Baseer Naveed Criticizes Gen Kayani’s Speech

Why is General Kiyani dictating Islamic ideology as the basis of the country?

by Baseer Naveed

Just twenty days before the general elections the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani, has come out with a policy statement which gives the political views of the Army.

The statement was delivered with the express intention of getting elections results in favour of the fundamentalists, Jihadis and their supporting parties. While addressing the assembled troops at the passing out parade of 127th PMA Long Course, 46th Integrated Course and the first Mujahid Course at the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul, he said that since Islam was the basis of Pakistan’s creation, it can never be separated from the body politic. He categorically emphasised this point when he said:

“Let me remind you that Pakistan was created in the name of Islam and Islam can never be taken out of Pakistan. However, Islam should always remain a unifying force. I assure you that regardless of the odds, the Pakistan Army will keep on doing its best towards our common dream for a truly Islamic Republic of Pakistan”.

Kiyani also made an about face when he changed the ‘new doctrine about operational priorities’, (the Green Book), which was issued on January 2, 2013. In it the Army described the Taliban and other terrorists as the biggest threat to the country.  For decades the Army has always considered India as its No 1 enemy but growing extremism in the country compelled the military authorities to review its strategy. A new chapter, ‘Sub-conventional warfare’ has been included in the Green Book for the first time.

Kiyani’s statement is alarming in that the strongest institution of the country is once again revealing its intentions to enforce the non-secular and extremist forces in the elections. The majority of the political parties, who have always won the confidence of the people through free and fair votes, are secular in their politics and they have different opinions about the ‘Ideology of Pakistan’. In fact, most of them do not consider that Pakistan was created for any particular ideology but was rather created to be a homeland for the Muslims of the subcontinent. The Islamic religious parties have started saying that Pakistan was created on the basis of Islam 24 years after the creation of the country in 1970 which resulted in the division of the nation.

This is not the first time that whenever general elections are held, the Army comes out with the enforcement of the ‘Ideology of Pakistan’, which they relate with Islamic ideology. In 1969 when General Yahya Khan took over the country after a people’s uprising against the previous dictator he invented the Ideology of Pakistan based on Islamic ideology to patronise the anti-democratic and religious forces who were very much against Pakistan and its founder, Mr. Jinnah, whom they then called an infidel. Interestingly, the General was known to be a lover of strong drink and a rampant womanizer. At that time the country had never seen such a ‘pious’ man and he was very dear to the religious parties. However, all his efforts failed. The secular political parties won with a thumping majority and the religious parties were only able to get 15 out of more than 300 seats.

Another General, Zia-ul-Haq, came into power after throwing out and imprisoning Prime Minister Bhutto in the name of Islam, who he later hung. In the 1985 elections General Zia introduced articles 62 and 63 in the hopes of getting pious and hard line Muslim candidates. In the end all he got were the most corrupt members of his Islamic assemblies. During 1991, the then Chief of Army Staff, General Nawaz Janjua, repeated the same words of Islamic ideology as the basis for the Ideology of Pakistan. The engineered elections were held in which the notorious intelligence agency, the ISI, distributed huge amounts of money and obtained the required election results after expending a huge amount of public funds.

In Kiyani’s speech to the troops he again came out with the threatening call that: “Let it suffice to say that Pakistan is fully capable of responding effectively to any threat, the army chief said, without naming India or any other country. Despite our current focus on internal security, we remain fully prepared to defeat an external direct threat”. (As reported by the Daily Dawn). This was seen as a provocation to the neighbouring countries and nothing less than warmongering particularly at the time of the elections.

It was a clear indication that what Kiyani says for the Ideology of Islam as the basis of Pakistan means that religious minority groups do not have any space in the country as the country was created only for the Muslims. Therefore in the opinion of the military there is nothing available for the different religions.

Another alarming thing for the people of Pakistan was the inclusion of the ‘first Mujahid (holy warriors or Jihadis) course’ at the Pakistan Military Academy. The handouts by the military did not clarify or define the purpose behind the course. Does this now mean that the Army wants to create Mujahideen so that Jihad can be introduced through the soldiers as its old policy of the Cold War era? With whom will these Mujahideen fight? Prior to 2001 the army and military government made it a policy to combat the terrorist who were fighting to enforce Islam through violence to achieve their results. Thousands of people were killed, including 40 thousand soldiers from the forces and allied organizations.

With Islamic ideology as the basis of the country the military must have a hidden agenda for the time when the American forces leave Afghanistan in 2014. Is the intention to have a pro-Pakistan government, like the Taliban of 1994, and is this possible through the creation of the Jihadis? For this reason the military has started a campaign on the Ideology of Pakistan to re-enforce the extremist and fundamentalists and their friends who are contesting the coming elections so that a government can be formed which can always remain under the dictates of the army in the name of the protection of the Ideology of Pakistan?

If the religious-based parties do not win the next elections and do not form the government the only conclusion to be drawn is that the Army will not accept the election results. Either that or the Army would force the caretaker government to run the country until the parties inclined towards the Ideology of Pakistan come to power.

The other aspect of declaring Islamic ideology as the basis of Pakistan is to strangle the freedom of expression. For the last five to six years society has enjoyed freedom of expression to a great extent which, of course, would not be a good omen for those institutions who have always enjoyed unfettered power and who might now have to be accountable to a secular parliament.

It is not the function of the Pakistan Army or its commanding officer to dictate to the country as to what the basis of Pakistan is and who has the right to remind the people of it. It is better for democracy and a democratic set up that the politicians should decide the Ideology of Pakistan rather than the military. It is only the people of Pakistan that have the right to choose any person or political group which may or may not follow the Ideology of Pakistan. General Kiyani should concentrate on his sworn duty of defending the country rather than poking his nose into political issues.

Shia Genocide: Military and Militants

Balochistan province and especially its capital have been virtually under the control of military and its intelligence agencies for the past one and half decades, in every nook and cranny there are security kiosks and check posts of the military and the FC. No person has the liberty to go about his business without producing his or her identity and suffering a search of all their belongings. Even a person who purchases food stuffs from the vendors has to get clarification from the FC personnel who are all around the streets of the capital. The searches extend even to the shoes of the residents.

Therefore it is not possible that anything can enter without the permission of the FC, police and other local law enforcement agencies but the bombings continue. There is also strong network of intelligence agencies in Balochistan, if any guest arrives at any relative’s house, even, in the remotest part of the province the intelligence agencies and police enquire about the guest and sometimes detain him for several hours for enquiry.

Therefore, it can only be assumed that the terrorists with huge amounts of explosive material are moving about with the tacit approval of the FC and other law enforcement agencies. Since the last two years it is observed that when the Hazaras pilgrims were going in buses to Iran their buses were attacked close the picket points of the FC. This was also witnessed when the Shia pilgrims from Gilgit Baltistan were travelling in buses and were attacked and killed by men in military uniforms. All these incidents were reported and to-date the military has remained silent. Interestingly neither have they contradicted such reports.

The failure of the military and intelligence agencies to stop the killings of members of the Shia community in Balochistan province is now being discussed in the media and in government circles. Indeed, media analysts are blaming Saudi Arabia for the killings.

This is significant because only a short time ago to make such an allegation was prohibited. It is said that the killings of the Shiites is the result of the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia. It is openly believed that because Pakistan is entering into different trade pacts with Iran and China the United States and Saudi Arabia want to block such ventures.

Saudi Arabia is providing huge grants to the Pakistan army and many analysts report that the army and its units have a vested interest in turning a blind eye to the sectarian attacks against the Shiites.

During the latest carnage against the Shiites on February 17, the terrorists were carrying 1000 kilograms of explosive material in a water tank which passed through many check posts of the FC. The driver informed the FC officials that he was carrying water to Hazaras town and so was not searched. However, considering that this was a most sensitive area due to the bombing on January 10 where 107 persons were killed there is no excuse for the FC not to have checked the contents of the tank.

A banned organisation, Lashkare Jhangvi has claimed responsibility for the attack as it has done for the previous attacks on Shiites and particularly on Hazaras. This organisation all its bases in Punjab province and is running hundreds of mosques from where they preach their messages of hate against Shias calling them infidels and liable to be killed. Its leaders are free and openly collecting funds from the streets. Instead of taking action against them the law minister of the Punjab government is notorious for providing protection to the militants of banned organisations and these groups support him in the elections.

The courts also have a soft attitude towards such organisations and release them for want of evidence. Even the Chief Justice has released its leader, Malik Ishaq for not having any evidence. This is despite the fact that Malik himself confessed publicly before his release in 2010 that he has killed more than 100 Shia persons and was involved in the attack of Sri Lankan cricket team. After every incident of terrorism Malik goes to Saudi Arabia where he gets VIP treatment and given huge rewards for his ‘the service to Islam’.

By Yousuf Nazar

Pakistan’s top military spokesman Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asim Salim Bajwa on Thursday spoke with the media and rejected the impression that any banned organisation was being supported, saying that the armed forces were not in contact with any militant organisation including Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ). The government arrested LeJ’s leader Malik Ishaq Friday 22 February for the second time in the last six months in an apparent bid to calm growing public anger at its inaction after more than 100 people died in a bomb blast in Quetta in Balochistan province on last Saturday. He may be out soon!

The LeJ has claimed responsibility for two bomb blasts in Quetta so far in 2013 targeting Shia Hazaras that killed over 210 men, women, and children. In 2012, at least 325 members of the Shia Muslim population were killed in targeted attacks that took place across Pakistan. In Balochistan province, over 100 were killed, most of them from the Hazara community.

During the last decade, over 2000 Shia Hazara community children have been killed or wounded in attacks perpetrated by terrorists in southwestern town of Quetta of Pakistan’s turbulent Balochistan province. Many hundreds of Shia Muslims have been killed in northern areas of Pakistan such as Gilgit, Baltistan, Parachinar and Chelas. The attacks on Shia Muslims since the year 2000 have not been limited to Balochistan or the northern areas and major cities like Karachi and Lahore have also seen target killings of Shias. Historically since the 1980s, Pakistan’s biggest province Punjab had been at the centre of Shia-Sunni sectarian tensions but while there it is now mostly peaceful in Punjab – the power base of the LeJ- Balochistan has been hit hard by a wave of Shia killings in the last few years that can hardly be described as sectarian conflict. It is genocidal.

During the last few days Pakistan’s intelligence services have come under fire for their failure to stop the killings, at the very least, and for complicity at worst. Khwaja Mohammad Asif, a senior lawmaker from the opposition, demanded that “all institutions responsible for security” — including secret agencies, the paramilitary Frontier Corps operating in Balochistan and police — should be called “so the representatives of 180 million people (of Pakistan) ask them why the nation is so unsafe”. Hamid Mir, one of Pakistan’s leading journalists and TV anchors, said the Pakistan’s intelligence services had ignored a tide of sectarian bloodshed after deliberately creating “private death squads” to fight a war against separatists in the country’s troubled Baluchistan province.

Many analysts accuse the military intelligence of complicity and protecting Malik Ishaq – the leader of LeJ. He was released on bail by Pakistan’s Supreme Court in July 2011 after spending 12 years in jail. On his release, he was received outside the prison by leaders of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), banned in 2001 as a terrorist organization but now renamed to Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat (ASWJ). The ASWJ leader heading the welcome party was Maulana Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi who came in handy when the current Army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, called on Ishaq to talk to the terrorists who had attacked Army General Headquarters in Rawalpindi in October 2009. The Army chief’s personal plane had carried Ishaq to Rawalpindi, while another plane belonging to the ISI chief, Gen. Shuja Pasha, carried Ludhianvi, according to the reports published in Newsweek Pakistan, and daily newspapers, the Express Tribune and the News International.

After his release, Ishaq has been participating in political activities and even appeared at public rallies at least one of which was attended by Pakistan’s former ISI Chief Lt. General Hamid Gul. Ishaq was briefly detained for making a ’provocative’ speech in August 2012 from Lahore airport on his return from Saudi Arabia where he had gone for a “short visit”. He was quickly released on ‘bail’ by a lower court. According to the British daily Guardian, Saudi Arabia was described as the world’s largest source of funds for Islamist militant groups in a secret December 2009 paper signed by Hilary Clinton.

Most noticeable and significant development has been the dramatic rise in attacks on Shias since Ishaq’s apparent rehabilitation which started in October 2009, finally leading to his release in July 2011. On 28 December 2009, as many as 40 Shias were killed in an apparent suicide bombing on a Shia procession in Karachi. Another attack took place on 1 September 2010 in Lahore where at least 35 Shia were killed and 160 people sustained injuries during a Shia procession. Another occurred on 3 September 2010 in the city of Quetta which killed around 56 people during another Shia procession.

During 2011, most of the attacks on Shias took place in Balochistan marking the shift in focus from other parts of Pakistan. Over 70 Shias died in Balochistan, mainly in or near the provincial capital Quetta, in at least eight major incidents that involved use of rocket launchers, bomb blasts, and open massacre such as shooting Shia pilgrims travelling to Iran by road.

In 2012, at least 325 members of the Shia Muslim population were killed in targeted attacks that took place across Pakistan, about one-third of them in Balochistan province, which is the smallest in terms of population and accounts for just around 4% of Pakistan’s total population of 190 million.

According to the New York Times, the murders in Quetta (a small city of around 2 million) involve remarkably little mystery. In a report published 3 December 2012, the paper said: “by wide consensus, the gunmen are based in Mastung, a dusty agricultural village 18 miles to the south that is the bustling local hub of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, the country’s most notorious sectarian militant group”. Earlier on 20 September 2012 gunmen opened fire on Shia Muslim pilgrims travelling by bus through Mastung, killing 26 people. On 30 December 2012 the terrorists struck again in Mastung as remotely-triggered bomb hit a convoy of three buses carrying Shia pilgrims to Iran and killed 19 people and injured 25.

Abdul Khalique Hazara, a leader of the Hazara Democratic Party, mainly consisting of Shia Muslims, told Al Jazeera TV’s Jane Dutton 18 February 2013, “they are trying intentionally, in Quetta district, to promote religious extremism. So I think they are provoking our community to be involved; they are going to drag us into sectarianism. But our people are very peaceful people”.

The accusations that Pakistan’s military establishment is using Islamic militants and extremists to promote religious extremism are more than just accusations given the long history of Pakistani establishment in using them as both a foreign policy and domestic politics tool. Former military dictator Pervez Musharraf helped a coalition of religious parties win provincial elections in 2002 in Kyhber Pukhtoonkhwa. The coalition was led by JUI which ran seminaries that gave birth to the Talibans.

The military establishment has faced tough resistance from secular Baloch nationalist groups for most periods of Pakistan’s history but that resistance turned into a province wide insurgency after a leading Baloch leader Akbar Bugti was killed in a military operation in 2006. Instead of seeking a political solution, Pakistan’s security establishment started a ruthless campaign of crushing the dissidents and insurgents through all possible means. In April 2011, the Army began a limited withdrawal from the cantonments and turned much of the security responsibility to the Frontier Corps (FC), at least nominally. But FC is also headed by a serving Major General. The province is now in the middle of its fourth major episode of insurgency, following major outbreaks in 1948, 1963–69, and 1973–78.

President of the Balochistan High Court Bar Association, the province’s lawyer’s body, Hadi Shakeel told Pakistan’s Supreme Court in February 2011 that there were more than 5,000 cases of ‘forced disappearances’ in Balochistan. A three-member-bench headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry conducted many hearings on the petition filed on the law and order situation in Balochistan. On 27 September 2012, the chief justice told the province’s top civilian bureaucrat to discuss the issue with the president, Director General (DG) of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and DG Military Intelligence (MI) and to inform the court in writing as to what steps are being taken to improve the situation. This was a clear indication of the active involvement of the military intelligence agencies as well as the recognition of that fact by the country’s highest court.

It is important to note that the Pakistan military including the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard all maintain a presence in Balochistan, while the most significant branch is the Army. The Pakistan Army XII Corps, commanded by a three star general who serves concurrently as the commander of the southern command, is based in Quetta. The Pakistan Air Force operates four bases in Balochistan. The primary base is Samungli in Quetta and is home to the 31st Fighter Wing. The other three smaller bases include Shahbaz, Pasni, and Faisal. The Pakistan Navy operates four naval bases on the Arabian Sea in Balochistan. The primary base is the deep water port of Gwadar in western Balochistan which is the second largest port in Pakistan after Karachi. The port is also home to the 3rd Battalion of the Pakistan Coast Guard. The three smaller naval bases are located in Jiwani, Ormara, and Pasni.

The Pakistan Intelligence community also maintains a significant presence in Balochistan. The Inter-Service Intelligence Directorate (ISI) is responsible for strategic intelligence as well as conducting operations has a large element in Quetta. The ISI’s Joint Signals Intelligence Bureau (JISB) operates signal intelligence collection stations in Saindak which covers the western border and in Gwadar which cover the shipping lanes of the Gulf of Oman. In addition to the ISI each service has military intelligence assets, collectively known as MI, which support tactical requirements. The Intelligence Bureau (IB) is the oldest intelligence entity in Pakistan which traces its heritage back to British India. The IB conducts federal investigations in Balochistan along the lines of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and also supports the military establishment. Finally, there are the special branches of the provincial and local law enforcement that conduct criminal intelligence.

Given the extensive presence of the security agencies and their operations particularly since 2006, it is absurd to try to portray Balochistan as some place like North Waziristan. Anybody who is anybody in Pakistan knows well who runs Balochistan and the nature of the military operations inside it. But the most damning indictment of the extra-legal activities of the military intelligence agencies came when the chief justice said that the ‘Death squads’ of ISI and MI agencies should be abolished.

In some other country, this would have created a major political and legal crisis and many top heads would have rolled if its chief justice acknowledged that the state operated death squads but not in Pakistan. On the contrary, the alleged proxies of the intelligence agencies have struck with greater force in the last five months after the remarks of the chief justice. Gunmen in Quetta operate with impunity. Sometimes, they don’t even take the trouble of wearing masks to hide their identity, and kill Shias in the city’ streets and markets in broad daylight.

Clearly, Pakistan’s security establishment is unwilling to stop the growing power of dreadful extremists of the Lashkare Jhangvi while their own ‘death squads’ have the reputation of pursuing and killing insurgents with great efficiency.

It seems that as in the past; like the use of the Talibans in the 1990s, that of local militant groups in Kashmir, and that of sectarian groups like the SSP in the 1980s, the security establishment considers the LeJ as an ally in Balochistan with the apparent aim of controlling the unruly province with the help of religious forces that have little in common with the secular orientation of the Baloch rebels and are controlled by ethnic Punjabis like Malik Ishaq.

LeJ and their Pakistani allies are believed to have the sympathies if not the active support of the Saudis although there seems to be little doubt about the funds that generously flow to these groups from the Arabian Gulf. These militants are also hostile to the neighbouring Shia Iran due to their religious beliefs. Hazara Shias, a peaceful community, has thus become a victim and cannon fodder in this high stake and deadly game to promote hatred and extremism in order to keep Balochistan under the grip of the security establishment which has found the challenge of fighting the insurgents rather daunting in the last six years. But Pakistani people and the World must not allow innocent and peaceful Hazara Shias to become a ‘collateral damage’ in this extremely sensitive part of the region and Pakistan because the repercussions could spill over across the region and within Pakistan, with possibly catastrophic consequences.

Yousuf Nazar is a columnist and researcher-can be reached at; yousufnazar@yahoo.com

After hearing the accusations of covert and overt support for sectarian terrorism and the terrorists the state institutions, like the judiciary and the army are trying to clarify their positions.

There is of course, the involvement of the civilian set up that, after a total of 32 years of collision between the army and the judiciary, succeeded in coming to power.

The Supreme Court has started hearing the cases of the genocide of the Hazara Shias to determine the cause of the killings after a demand from Imran Khan, who is well known for his relationship with the former chief of ISI.

The Chief Justice, Iftekhar Choudhry, during the hearing, has placed the sole responsibility for the genocide at the feet of the prime minister and the governor of Balochistan province thereby relieving the military, Frontier Corps (FC) and intelligence agencies who are, in fact virtually ruling the province of any blame. The CJ also kept the reports of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and FC confidential and their contents were not divulged as he said that he did not want to demoralize ‘anyone’.

On the other hand the military has come out with a clarification and denounced its involvement in supporting the religious terrorist organizations.

The chief of the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Bajwa, claimed that during the last four months the ISI has conducted 130 operations, but in the same breath he said that military has not been stationed in Balochistan province since 2008. He disassociated the military from the carnage of Quetta.

The statement of the spokespersons of the military is actually a confession as to how military intelligence is operating independently as even the Supreme Court was not informed about its activities in the province when the CJ asked the Secretary of Defence to submit a statement about the killings in Balochistan. Even the civilian authorities did not know that so many operations were being carried out in within 120 days which means that more than one operation was conducted in any one single day. The military has also not bothered to mention as to who the targets of the operations were; whether they were against the local population or against sectarian terrorists?

Were those operations were against the Islamic militants or to establish them in Balochistan to create another province which would fall into the hands of banned militant organisations? Has just one single militant network been destroyed? Have any militants been arrested? Indeed, one crucial question is: why there were the attacks against Hazaras successful without any loss to militants.

It is no doubt that the ISI are operating freely in the province without any legal authority against the Baloch nationalists who are secularly free from any religious hate, fighting for the cause of simple autonomy for Balochistan whose resources were always usurped by the military and its forces through their operations. The abductions, extrajudicial killings and the dumping of bodies of Baloch people after arrest have never stopped. The peculiarity of the military and its intelligence agencies is that they do not like any secular or democratic movement and that is why the most democratic section of the population is under attack from military agencies.

It is also no longer a secret that when General Head Quarter (GHQ) of the Pakistan army was attacked in 2010 all the leaders of the sectarian groups and militant organisations were loaded onto a military plane and given a red carpet welcome in the GHQ for negotiations. Among them was also Malik Ishaq, the commander of Lashkare Jhangvi (LEJ) who always claims responsibility for attacks on the Shias and Hazaras.

After the successful discussions at GHQ Malik Ishaq, was awarded and the Supreme Court was requested to release him unconditionally — the Supreme Court followed the request from the old masters and he was released in July 2011. What is known is the fact that before his release he announced very proudly that he has killed more than 100 Shias and also managed the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team from inside his prison cell.

The spokesperson has not clarified as to why two notorious killers of the Shias, Usman Kurd and Daud Badini were allowed to escape from the Anti Terror Jail in 2008 which was situated in the military cantonment of the Quetta, the capital of the province. Nor has he explained what actions have been taken against the officials of the military cantonment. The Supreme Court has yet not taken action against the escape of the killers who are in the city and declaring they will never be caught again.

There are many doubts about the Sou Moto action of the Supreme Court on the killings of Hazaras Shia on February 16. The action of the SC will not yield any result as no results have ever been witnessed in such Sou Moto actions. It is rather for the consumption of the galleries. The role of the judiciary is also being discussed in the media about the release of militants just on the excuse of want of evidence. The militants know better how to deal with judiciary and that is why judiciary is spared of any rebound from the militants.

The judiciary and military know full well that if there would be fair inquiry then their role is certain to be discussed and their collusion exposed. Therefore it is wiser to hide their crimes and act quickly to put all the blame on the civilians. This explains as to why the reports of the intelligence agencies are kept secret by the Supreme Court in an effort to save their old masters and the judges themselves for not following the law in order to save their countrymen from acts of terrorism. What exactly is it that is preventing the military and the judiciary from destroying the militants? The only possible explanation is that there is a hidden agenda with regard to terrorists and religious extremism which the military and the judiciary are keeping to themselves.

Blaming the civilians is not the answer as the responsibility for safeguarding the security of the public lies with the military and the judiciary as well. This responsibility is non-transferable. All institutions of the government have to fight against this malaise that is pulling the country down to the level where the people live and die at the whim of the terrorists. The blame game between the institutions is not going to resolve this problem and the only people who are winning are the militants.

Where is the Media in the Case of Inamur Raheem Advocate?

The Pakistani nation is kind of sick and tired hearing about the independence of judiciary and the wonderful job that the media is undertaking in promoting democratic values and strengthening rule of law.

The courage of both these institutions was exposed when Inamur Raheem, a retired military lawyer, on November 14, 2012, while returning from a family funeral to his home in Rawalpindi was stopped by three vehicles. Six unidentified men leapt out and attacked Raheem, raining blows on his head and upper torso. “I resisted, so they attacked me with punches and sticks,” he said during an interview at a nearby hospital, where he was treated for cuts to the nose and head. “They said they were teaching me a lesson for what I was doing.”

What was Raheem’s fault?

He started a legal challenge this week seeking to end the tenure of Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff in the Islamabad High Court. The 57-year-old retired colonel has challenged the validity of a three-year extension of service for Gen. Kayani in 2010. General Kayani, the army chief, turned 60 this year, which Raheem argues is the age limit for his post, thus rendering the remainder of his term extension invalid.

Raheem believes the beating, which occurred just 200 yards from the military’s general headquarters, was a clear attempt to force him to back off. “No one except the army chief and his military intelligence chief can be behind this attack,” he said.

The army spokesman was not available for comment, but another military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the sensitive issue, described to New York Times Raheem’s account as “baseless.” “No security official was involved in beating up of Inam ur Raheem,” he said.

The investigation into the assault is now in police hands. But there’s little doubt that Raheem had entered perilous waters — particularly at a time when the military leadership faces an array of legal actions that challenge several pillars of the army’s longstanding grip on power in Pakistan.

Raheem, a retired military lawyer, and a religious-minded man has a history of challenging the military. In 2007, he sought the release of detainees being held in intelligence custody. In 2012, he defended a brigadier who was later court-martialed for spreading Islamist propaganda inside the military.

Raheem told the New York Times that he was attacked by operatives from Military Intelligence because, six months ago, the head of that organization, Maj. Gen. Naushad Kayani, personally warned him to abandon his legal activism. “Give up all these cases. Anything can happen to you,” Raheem recounted the general as telling him.

Now his petition against General Kayani is expected to be heard by the Islamabad High Court next week. Mr. Raheem says he intends to press ahead — after being released from the hospital, he went immediately to a police station to file a complaint that named the army chief and military intelligence chief, whom he accused in writing of mounting an assassination attempt against him. The police has not taken the case up. But Raheem said he was undeterred. “There is no question of giving up,” he said.

Raheem’s colleagues went on strike on Nov 17 and the lawyers of the Rawalpindi District Bar passed a resolution against what they termed the army chief’s interference in politics. “The army, as an institution, has not only failed to hold its corrupt officers accountable but is supporting them,” stated the resolution.

Is Pakistan on the Verge of Martial Law?

The Chief of Army Staff, General Kayani, while addressing a group of officers at the General Head Quarters (GHQ), has unambiguously threatened the judiciary, parliament, politicians and media that their criticism of the actions of some retired generals will not be tolerated. He provoked the soldiers in such a way so as to instill a conscious idea that there is a distinction between the soldiers and the ‘leadership’ of the army and in his arrogance he announced that such efforts cannot be tolerated.

Showing the monopoly of the army on the definition of national interests, General Kayani, unequivocally said that “no individual or institution has the monopoly to decide what is right or wrong in defining the ultimate national interest”. He then emphasized that “it should emerge through a consensus” — a very clear message from General Kayani that it is only army that can define national interest and others institutions, the judiciary, parliament and media, will have to fall in line as they did so in the past since the creation of the country.

In his strong message the army chief, threatened the constitutional setup no less than five times. The threat to the constitutional set up in the country came only after the trial against nine generals on the charges of murder, corruption and interfering in the democratic process of the country by distributing funds to compliant politicians in order to rig the elections. Among them are two retired chiefs of army staff, two former chiefs of the notorious intelligence agency, the ISI (one lieutenant general and one major general), five lieutenant Generals are on charges of corruption. This was the first time in the country that such a number of the former generals are being tried by the Supreme Court and parliament’s committee who has sent the reference to the national accountability courts. The media, who has never enjoyed such freedom to criticize the military, has come out with so much discussion on the role of the military in the corruption, land scams, misuse of power, involvement in politics and killings of the people that this has infuriated the officers. General Kayani, the COAS, who was said to be the silent general, has come out with his secret intention for the future by threatening the civil institutions with dire consequences.

The full text of the speech by General Kiyani COAS may be found here.

The COAS in his written speech has on several times repeated words such as, ‘unacceptable’, ‘is not tolerated’, ‘roll back us’, (negative implications for intimidating the judiciary and other civilian institutions). In a very loud voice he said “All systems in Pakistan appear to be in a haste to achieve something, which can have both positive and negative implications.” The judiciary was openly criticized here for rushing to judgment in some cases. The message may be that too much realism may lead to negative implications. Through this reference he has also pointed his finger towards the parliament and media that they should understand that the army will not remain silent.

At one point General Kayani provoked the officers and the soldiers that, “Equally important is the trust between the soldiers and the leadership of the Armed Forces. Any effort to create a distinction between the two undermines the very basis of this concept and is not tolerated, be it Pakistan or any other country……. Armed Forces draw their strength from the bedrock of the public support. National security is meaningless without it. Therefore, any effort which wittingly or unwittingly draws a wedge between the people and Armed Forces of Pakistan undermines the larger national interest. While constructive criticism is well understood, conspiracy theories based on rumours which create doubts about the very intent, are unacceptable.”

The statement of the Chief of Army Staff is seen by many in the excited media as direct interference with the civilian affairs of the country. The critics are saying that there is no provision in the constitution which allows the military to poke its nose into the affairs of the government. The army must at all times follow the dictates of the government, not the other way around.

There was no doubt that the general’s speech was a warning that the army can take-over at any time should it feel threatened by the government or any other civilian institution.

It is said that the written speech of the chief justice of Pakistan which was leaked where the chief justice while speaking to the officers of the 97th National Management Course held by the National School of Public Policy, National Management College, said that “Gone are the days when stability and security of the country was defined in terms of number of missiles and tanks, as a manifestation of hard power available at the disposal of the State”.  He further said, “Today, the concept of national security has been redefined as a polity wherein a state is bound to provide its citizens with overwhelming social security and welfare nets and to protect their natural and civil rights at all costs”.

What General Kayani was annoyed about was that the speech of the chief justice was made public before he could water it down. He wanted to get across the point that it is the armed forces and only the armed forces that can decide on national issues. This is the foundation stone of the armed forces and the speech of the chief justice has undermined this salient point. This, he feels will demoralise the soldiers. To put more emphasis on General Kayani’s statement the Public Relations Office, the ISPR, issued press releases in English and Urdu. The press release in Urdu was more than clear in delivering the message to the masses and the ordinary soldiers who cannot read English.

The contents of the two different statements, one by the chief justice and other by the chief of army staff on constitutional affairs were directly opposed to each other.

This more than anything shows that there is a conflict between the civilian institutions and the army which believes itself to be the main power broker despite the fact that it has never been counted as one of the three pillars of the state.

Dr Ayesha Siddiqa Says Each General Worth About 30 Crore

Pakistan Army’s Multimillionaires

Dr Ayesha Siddiqa-Agha did her doctorate from King’s College, London in 1996 and has worked on issues varying from military expenditure, defence decision-making, nuclear deterrence, arms procurement, arms production to civil-military relations in South Asia. She is also a Ford Fellow and more recently Pakistan Scholar at t he Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars.

She began her professional career with the Pakistan Navy as the Director of Naval Research, making her the first civilian and woman to work at that position in Pakistan’s defence establishment. 

 Her major publication to date is the book Pakistan’s Arms Procurement and Military Buildup, 1979-99: In Search of a Policy (Palgrave Press, 2001). 

Extracts from an interview 

Question

: So what is this book about?

Dr. Siddiqa

: This book is about military business operations with a case study of

Pakistan.

Question:

So what prompted you to write this book?

Dr. Siddiqa:

I was a civil servant. During the course of my work I had to deal with numbers of military spending and doing that one slowly realized that a lot was hidden.It is the search for numbers that took me in this direction. The other thing is that it is essential to understand the dynamics of the institution that virtually controls Pakistan’s past, present and future.

I joined the civil service in 1988 and left in 2001. Served in military accounts, defence audit and later the navy.

Question:

Going back to the Pakistan army’s business, what are your findings?

Dr. Siddiqa:

Several. First, the military has become predatory engaging in political and economic predation. Second, political predation is not complete without economic predation. Third, military has mutated into a separate class that shares interests with other members of the ruling elite.

Finally, because the military protects its vested interests, it leads to alienation of the masses.

It dates back to the early 1950s. The business ventures were started with the establishing of the first foundation called the Fauji Foundation in 1953. This was established with the war veteran’s rehabilitation fund of Rs 18 million.

A politically strong entity that engages in political predation needs to feel economically or financially autonomous. This completes the picture of predation. The generals thought

that they wanted to establish independent means of providing for their welfare and not depending on the civilians like it happened in India. The financial autonomy gradually created the logic for greater interest in political control.

It started right then with Ayub Khan and his cabal getting agricultural land and establishing independent means for themselves.Look at Ayub Khan. He not only got several squares of agricultural land in Sindh, he also established his sons into business. Look at the entire lot of generals at the moment.

A Major General has a legal worth  of about Rs. 300 million [Rs. 30 crores]. These are conservative estimates.

Army economic power is about 4 % of GDP. I would say that their share in private sector assets is about 7-10 percent of private sector assets. This is a large number for any single group. So hey are worth about Rs. 200 billion. It is just the business. If you put in real estate then we are talking about a Rs 1 trillion plus economy.

This includes real estate, businesses done by subsidiaries, organizations and individuals. You have to understand that this economy is predatory by nature because it does not accept any form of civilian control over it. It is independent in terms of planning, appropriation of funds, etc

Question:

If Pakistan army’s assets total Rs 1 trillion can they fund Pakistan’s annual budget wholly or partially if they have to?

Dr. Siddiqa:

This would, converting these resources into liquid assets and then it would be possible to pay. A lot of these resources are state resources that could provide for military expenditure and more. It is difficult to say that this money would fund the entire budget. Of course, it can but over what period? These assets were acquired over time and their value should be added to the annual defence budget.

Question:

How much land does the forces own in each province?

Dr. Siddiqa:

Difficult to bifurcate but to give you a taste – they own about 7-9 million acres in Punjab alone

Most of the land is around the 2 barrages constructed after independence. Because they didn’t make new barrages.

Question:

What is their modus operandi in getting these lands allotment

Dr. Siddiqa:

10 % of land, according to the 1912 Colonization of Land Act, is allotted to the military

Question:

Does India have this act too?

Dr. Siddiqa:

No. They got rid of such acts when they did land reforms. Remember India is a state moving towards capitalism. A capitalist state would not create means for institutionalizing feudalism

Question:

Are you saying Pakistan army has institutionalized feudalism?

Dr. Siddiqa:

I am saying that it is a feudal institution as well

Question:

So in that case their interests converge with feudal system correct?

Dr. Siddiqa:

Yes

Question:

Do you think they resisted land reform along with the feudal?

Dr. Siddiqa:

I wouldn’t say that they resisted but they had sufficient stakes not to pursue a policy that had a negative impact on their benefits. For example, who buys the land the Faujis sell? The local feudal or the new rural capitalist class that is equally feudal in nature. Why should the officers then try to destroy the class that bails them out financially. After 1999, generals have started to keep their lands

Question:

What happened after 1999

Dr. Siddiqa:

Since the value of land has gone up, especially after 9/11, generals now  keep lands and have turned into absentee land lords

Question:

Why did the value of land in Pakistan go up after 9/11?

Dr. Siddiqa:

Because of the money that started to flow in from Pakistani expatriates plus other Muslim countries

Question:

What is their modus operandi in getting these lands allotted to generals individually and to their housing societies collectively?

Dr. Siddiqa:

The provincial governments allot the land to the Ministry of Defence who then gives the land to the three services for further dispersal. The land is also given to the Jawans but the quantity is lesser than what is given to the senior officers. Plus, the generals get greater facilities in making the land cultivable.

Question:

All this is based on 1912 colonization of land act that India got rid  of and Pakistan still has?

Dr. Siddiqa:

Yes, but they have done alterations as well. For instance, the act does not say that land meant for operational purpose be appropriated for personal use. It is against the law

Question:

Are you saying that land meant for operational purposes are or have been appropriated to the generals for personal use or to the housing societies?

Dr. Siddiqa:

Of course. All land in the cities is military land turned into housing colonies

Question:

What is the conclusion of your book?

Dr. Siddiqa:

Simple: The political leadership in Pakistan has to negotiate the military’s gradual withdrawal from the economy if they want democratic institutions to grow

Question:

At what value does the army buy land?

Dr. Siddiqa:

Between Rs. 30-60 per acre. In some cases they pay more. This refers to the private housing schemes

Question:

You mean in Defence Society in Karachi, the army gets land from the provincial govt for 30 to 60 rupees an acre only?

Dr. Siddiqa:

There are 2 methods for getting land. All the military land converted for personal use is given at the ridiculous price I quoted. Then there are other schemes where they pay a little more. For instance, the Cantonment Board distributed plots of 500 yards each by appropriating part of the parking lot of the Karachi stadium. Each plot was for about Rs 600,000

Question:

What was the fair market value of each plot at that time?

Dr. Siddiqa:

One and a half crore

Question:

Who got these plots?

Dr. Siddiqa:

Generals. The bulk goes to generals. This was done by General  auqeer Zia. As Chairman Cricket Control Board he authorized himself to return this land that once belonged to the Cantonment Board for further distribution

Question:

Any more instances of such land grabbing?

Dr. Siddiqa:

The entire Lahore Cantonment was turned into housing  schemes. In fact, except for Defence phase I & II (Lahore), the rest of the land does not even belong to the military

Question:

How many acres is Lahore Cantonment, if you know?

Dr. Siddiqa:

About 8000 to 10,000.

Question:

What is its fair market worth now

Dr. Siddiqa:

Runs into billions. It should be around Rs. 700 billion

Question:

What was the “grabbing price”

Dr. Siddiqa:

As I said, Rs. 30-60. This is the rate that officers pay. I recall a journalist telling me that once at a press conference Sardar Attaullah Mengal declared that while the military regime constantly lambasted the Baloch sardars like him for cornering the wealth of Balochistan, he would gladly swap all his assets with those of any general any time, any day. It soon becomes very obvious that most of us have opted for the wrong career. If a banker friend of mine is right, then the highest paid salaried civilian is one Farooq Bengali, currently heading some Arab bank based in Karachi. Bengali’s annual salary package is rumoured to be in the range of Rs. 3 crores per annum.

Considering it took Farooq Bengali years of much lower salaries to get there and the fact he’ll mostly likely get this kind of salary for eight years at the very most – the maximum he can hope to accumulate in his lifetime is Rs 30 crores. This sum equals, according to Dr Siddiqa, an average major general’s net worth. There must be a few dozen of major generals around at any given time, so there ought to much great scope in getting there; after all there is only job available like Farooq Bengali’s, and he is currently occupying it.

Besides, once Farooq Bengali retires he goes home. The same doesn’t apply to our retired generals; they can become provincial governors, federal ministers, ambassadors, heads of one of the numerous Fauji conglomerates or even be in a position to mismanage the Pakistan Cricket Board. Now that is what a richly rewarding career is all about.

Generals In Real-Estate Business—Wikileaks Missing Stories Released

President Zardari demanded Rs2 billion from real-estate tycoon Malik Riaz….

Malik made Gen. Kayani’s brother business-partner on Presidential threats…

ISI chief owns many commercial plazas in Rawalpindi and Islamabad…

By Habib R. Sulemani

The Army Chief calls the shots in Pakistan and it’s a universal truth. So whatever the former American Ambassador has reported from Islamabad (in the leaked Wikileaks cables), is actually an open secret in Pakistan.

Here are some stories which the WikiLeaks missed:

• The military establishment allowed the Taliban to takeover Swat region to deceive the American Administration and get funds for fight terrorism. When the Taliban were entering Swat region, a DSP of the regional police told the government to allow him, to stop advancement of the Taliban. The high-ups told him shut-up it was a strategy of the military establishment. Then the DSP was transferred to another region.

• A follower of Maududi was appointed as Commissioner of the region, who facilitated the Taliban’s takeover of Malakand Region and then the so-called military oppression against the Taliban started.

• Militant leader Maulana Sufi Muhammad, also a follower of Maududi, was given full security with a chauffeur-driven land-cruiser by the ISI so that he could terrorize the people to leave region. Later, the military media cell gave the faked news of the death of Sufi’s son and son-in-law (even now Sufi is said to be a valued guest of the ISI like Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan).

• When a straightforward Pashtun Major-General wanted to finish the reign of Taliban the tribal areas, he was transferred to downtown—but he refused, saying that until he finishes the enemies of Pakistan, he couldn’t leave the battleground. However, later, he was tactfully packed off—

• After becoming President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari demanded Rs. 2 billion from Malik Riaz of Bahria Town. Without payment, the tycoon was told, he couldn’t continue his lucrative business! The tycoon refused. But when the Presidency threatened him to deposit the said amount in a given account, Malik Riaz suffered a heart attack but, fortunately, survived due to in-time treatment.

• After recovery, the first thing Malik Riaz did was to call the brother of Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani—and offering him partnership in the huge real-estate business. (The tycoon has reportedly also given shares to the management of the National Press Club Islamabad to amalgamate the Media Town with his Bahria Town) After this strategy of the tycoon, President Zardari kept silent.

• Another thing which was talk of the journalistic community about two years back was that the former ISI chief Lt-Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha owns many commercial plazas in the twin-cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. One of his commercial plazas is situated near the PIA office in Saddar area of Rawalpindi, where the Dawn Media Group had also its Bureau Office. A serving Major of the Pakistan Army had been assigned to collect rent from the tenants at the beginning of every month.

Kamran Shafi Calls Army’s Indulgence in the Media `Monkey Business’

Monkey business-military set to expand media outreach across country

by Kamran Shafi

What the devil is going on?

Why is there no reaction from the sitting government, and the leaders of the political parties in the opposition including the self-proclaimed future prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan; why none from the various spokespeople who regale us with their silly arguments every single evening on the mostly nonsensical TV talk shows; why indeed, have none of the tens of channels picked up on an earth-shaking report in this newspaper of record of April 15, 2012 titled, “Apna Pakistan: Military set to expand media outreach across country“?

We are told that the aim is “social harmonisation” and to propagate “state vision” in a “vibrant manner”. The CEO of 96 International Radio Network, a serving colonel of the Pakistan Army added in an interview to this paper that the “network is being planned to bring social harmony to a society that has been radicalised”.

Really now?

So then, despite the track record of our brass hats in political interventions; even after the recent upheaval in relations between the elected government and the army brass in which the ISPR had the gall to issue direct threats of “serious ramifications” to the PM himself, the de jure boss of the armed forces, the politicians are all right with this ‘media outreach’ by the army?

Leave alone the politicians own, and the country’s interests in containing the army brass to their cantonments and training areas, they should also consider the costs of this ‘outreach’ in terms of what it will do to the revered and respected institution of Radio Pakistan which has done so much for integration by reaching out to the farthest corners of our country; and by encouraging many artistes, especially those from the backward regions of Pakistan.

Indeed, who of my generation doesn’t recall the dulcet tones of Edward Carrapiet and Shaista Zaid announcing ‘This is Radio Pakistan; here is the news read by”. Halcyon days indeed for this great medium on which comedians like Imam Din would take a dig at almost everyone; on which Malik Khuda Bakhsh Bucha would host a programme giving agricultural advice. Radio Pakistan even today is doing yeoman service to the people, especially the poor. How can any government think of killing such an ‘outreach’?

For that is what it is. The bazaar gup is that the baboos of the finance and information ministries are deliberately killing Radio Pakistan by starving it of funds to suck up to the Deep State. It is said that not only has the PBC’s development budget been cut down, even its pay and pension bills are not being paid in full. This is disgraceful and needs urgent review by the government.

But let’s go back to the future wannabe media empire to be run by the Pakistan Army. Might one ask how a serving officer is running FM 96? Is FM 96 an army unit? Is the colonel on ERE (extra regimental employment) there? Does the ARR (Army Rules and Regulations) apply to him and to his assistants who are surely from the army too? Most critically, why does the ISPR not answer any questions about this venture? What’s going on?

Neither is this all. One of the reasons cited for the setting up of this channel is that it will be aimed towards the ‘difficult’ areas. While preliminary research conducted this last week through friends who know Fata says that Radio Pakistan is heard in most of the tribal areas, the question to ask is why FM 96 also wants to set up FM stations in main cities such as Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi? Is this aimed towards making money through advertisements, adding to the army’s business portfolio of bakeries, shaadi ghars and real estate businesses?

Wake up, Prime Minister, and put an immediate stop to this monkey business. Hasn’t this country had enough of the Deep State’s ‘social harmonisation’?

 

Kamran Shafi

What the devil is going on?

Why is there no reaction from the sitting government, and the leaders of the political parties in the opposition including the self-proclaimed future prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan; why none from the various spokespeople who regale us with their silly arguments every single evening on the mostly nonsensical TV talk shows; why indeed, have none of the tens of channels picked up on an earth-shaking report in this newspaper of record of April 15, 2012 titled, “Apna Pakistan: Military set to expand media outreach across country“?

We are told that the aim is “social harmonisation” and to propagate “state vision” in a “vibrant manner”. The CEO of 96 International Radio Network, a serving colonel of the Pakistan Army added in an interview to this paper that the “network is being planned to bring social harmony to a society that has been radicalised”.

Really now?

So then, despite the track record of our brass hats in political interventions; even after the recent upheaval in relations between the elected government and the army brass in which the ISPR had the gall to issue direct threats of “serious ramifications” to the PM himself, the de jure boss of the armed forces, the politicians are all right with this ‘media outreach’ by the army?

Leave alone the politicians own, and the country’s interests in containing the army brass to their cantonments and training areas, they should also consider the costs of this ‘outreach’ in terms of what it will do to the revered and respected institution of Radio Pakistan which has done so much for integration by reaching out to the farthest corners of our country; and by encouraging many artistes, especially those from the backward regions of Pakistan.

Indeed, who of my generation doesn’t recall the dulcet tones of Edward Carrapiet and Shaista Zaid announcing ‘This is Radio Pakistan; here is the news read by”. Halcyon days indeed for this great medium on which comedians like Imam Din would take a dig at almost everyone; on which Malik Khuda Bakhsh Bucha would host a programme giving agricultural advice. Radio Pakistan even today is doing yeoman service to the people, especially the poor. How can any government think of killing such an ‘outreach’?

For that is what it is. The bazaar gup is that the baboos of the finance and information ministries are deliberately killing Radio Pakistan by starving it of funds to suck up to the Deep State. It is said that not only has the PBC’s development budget been cut down, even its pay and pension bills are not being paid in full. This is disgraceful and needs urgent review by the government.

But let’s go back to the future wannabe media empire to be run by the Pakistan Army. Might one ask how a serving officer is running FM 96? Is FM 96 an army unit? Is the colonel on ERE (extra regimental employment) there? Does the ARR (Army Rules and Regulations) apply to him and to his assistants who are surely from the army too? Most critically, why does the ISPR not answer any questions about this venture? What’s going on?

Neither is this all. One of the reasons cited for the setting up of this channel is that it will be aimed towards the ‘difficult’ areas. While preliminary research conducted this last week through friends who know Fata says that Radio Pakistan is heard in most of the tribal areas, the question to ask is why FM 96 also wants to set up FM stations in main cities such as Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi? Is this aimed towards making money through advertisements, adding to the army’s business portfolio of bakeries, shaadi ghars and real estate businesses?

Wake up, Prime Minister, and put an immediate stop to this monkey business. Hasn’t this country had enough of the Deep State’s ‘social harmonisation’?

Defending Establishment of Cantonments in Balochistan

The Punjab Forum has said that construction of cantonments should not be abandoned in restive Balochistan province as it will encourage elements destabilising Pakistan.

Putting Balochistan cantonment plan on hold will help America, Afghanistan and India to play their dirty game on Pakistani soil, it said.

In a statement, the Punjab Forum said that limiting role of spy agencies will not only encourage insurgents but it will trigger new wave of indiscriminate massacre of the settlers.

Pakistan cannot afford to help target killers start ethnic cleansing of Punjabi and other non-Baloch settlers which are only 10 per cent of the provincial population, it added.

Such moves will help Afghanistan send scores of terrorists aimed at ethnic cleansing of Punjabis with an ultimate aim to disintegrate country.

A handful of miscreants have killed thousands of settlers including doctors, professors, teachers and labourers while hundreds of thousands have been displaced in their own country, it added.

Over the years settlers have given their best to Balochistan for which they are now being paid with bullets and bombs.

It said that it is amazing that whole government’s machinery is being used to please few anti-state miscreants and their masters in open contravention of the constitution while the number of dead bodies being sent to Punjab is on the increase.

So far, not a single politician or government official has expressed any sympathy with the heirs of those innocent who were killed in the cold blood.

 

The Punjab Forum demanded of the Chief of Army Staff General Kayani to review decision on cantonments to foil the unholy designs of enemies of the state, ensure welfare of poor Baloch people and put an end to black-mailing of chieftains.

 

Baig Raj

President, Punjab Forum

(For political & economic rights of Punjab)

0300-5355563

No Coup in the Offing: So No Martyrdom for the Jiyalas

The rapidly heating stand-off between the PPP government and the Pakistan Army, which threatened to boil over on Jan 11, 2012 as a war of words erupted between PM Gilani and the military, may yet escape the traditional ending.

Gilani’s remarks to the Chinese People’s Daily, that the responses of the Army Chief and the ISI head to the Supreme Court on the infamous memo affair were “illegal” and “unconstitutional,” were extraordinary.

The sub-text of the PM’s remarks was that the government could sack both General Kayani and Lt. Gen Shuja Pasha — both officers are serving on extension, and the ISI chief’s extended term is ending in March 2012 — for their conduct. This reinforced the view that he was upping the ante against the Army, almost daring it to take on the government.

The military’s response, that the PM’s words had “serious ramifications with potentially grievous consequences” carried an all-too-familiar and ominous ring.

Gilani’s decision to immediately hit back by sacking the Defence Secretary, Naeem Khlaid Lodhi, a retired general who is seen as close to the Army chief, and his replacement with a career civil servant, also served to heighten the coup fears. Reinforcing these fears, a new commander took charge of the infamous 111 Brigade stationed in Rawalpindi, also known as the coup-making brigade because its soldiers have been used to occupy important buildings and installations in Rawalpindi and Islamabad during a military takeover.

Still there is hope that this stand-off may not end in the seemingly inevitable.

The Army has also learnt that in the long run, coups usually do not work to its advantage. The example of General Musharraf and his downward spiral is fresh in its institutional memory. The job of running a country, one as difficult as Pakistan, especially at the moment, means getting elbow-deep into the muck, most of which sticks on the uniform, and hurts the military’s long-term interest of retaining its pre-eminent national position.

It is not clear how much backing Gen. Kayani would have within the Army itself for political adventurism. He’s seen as one of the main architects of the unpopular alliance with theUnited States; he was the head of the ISI for a significant period of General Musharraf’s decade in power. Lt. Gen Shuja Pasha’s standing too has taken a beating, especially after the United States military’s secret mission — the Pakistan military was kept out of it and did not detect it — that saw Osama bin Laden killed in his safe house in Abbottabad.

There is no popular appetite for military rule, even going by the commentary inPakistan’s traditionally pro-military media. The explosion of the media — traditional and new media, social networks such as Facebook and Twitter — also means that it is difficult for the Army to control the narrative to justify coups.

Then, there is is the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary which is unlikely to approve a military take-over.

This has raised hopes that the Supreme Court, which has in the past validated military coups by invoking the “doctrine of necessity,” will not do so. True, the Court is locked in a separate battle with the government that could end up weakening the government further. On Jan 10, it called Prime Minister Gilani a “dishonest” man who had violated his oath by not implementing the court’s directive to the government to write to the Swiss government for reopening of the cases of alleged money laundering against President Zardari.

The Court’s confrontation has added the pressure on the PPP government. Some Pakistani analysts are of the view that PM Gilani’s aggressive stand with the military, practically provoking it to carry out a coup, may be a ploy to “go down as shaheed”, martyred by the military — the PPP takes pride in its troubled history with the Pakistan Army — instead of being hauled into court to answer corruption charges.

For this reason, there are enough critics and opponents of the PPP asking the Army to exercise restraint — “don’t give them the martyrdom they seek”.

But the stand-off cannot continue indefinitely, and it is clear that one or more actors will have to quit the stage in order to end the uncertainty, or at least this phase of it. Pakistani analysts are not ruling out that it could be Generals Kayani and Pasha.

A more likely scenario is that the Army, though reluctant to carry out an outright coup, might not be as averse to effecting a change of government, which means the present dispensation gets replaced with another political formation, or perhaps a fresh election is called a year before it is due in 2013.

Is the PPP Government on its Way Out?

Why did the PM Gilani had to come out so openly against the Army, saying that conspirators were plotting to bring down his government, giving his most public indication yet that he fears being ousted from power.

“I want to make it clear today that conspiracies are being hatched here to pack up the elected government,” Gilani told a gathering at the National Arts Gallery.

Gilani’s remarks appear to show that members of his administration believe their early departure is all too possible.

Later while addressing the National Assembly on Dec 22, PM Gilani said that the government respects the armed forces and has supported the military in the worst of times.

“They are a disciplined army and follow the constitution,” Gilani said. “They are under the government and will remain under the government.”

But heading off questions in parliament, he took aim at the military over reports that the defence ministry conceded to the Supreme Court that it had no control over the armed forces or ISI intelligence agency.

“If they say that they are not under the ministry of defence, then we should get out of this slavery, then this parliament has no importance, this system has no importance, then you are not sovereign,” he told lawmakers.

“They are being paid from the State Exchequer, from your revenue and from your taxes.”

All institutions are subservient to the Parliament, and no institution has the right to create a state within the state, added the prime minister.

“If somebody thinks that they are not under the government, they are mistaken. They are under the government and they shall remain under the government, because we are the elected representatives of the people ofPakistan.”

Appearing to lose patience, he said the government had stood by the security services over a storm of American pressure over the Osama bin Laden killing, the November 26 Nato attack and the 2008 attacks on Mumbai.

“In the worst circumstances we doubled their salaries. They have to be accountable to parliament.”

“We are being asked by the judicial commission examining the May 2 US raid that killed bin Laden raid and how the al Qaeda leader lived in Pakistan undetected about issuance of visas (to Americans).

“But I want to ask how was (bin Laden) living here for the past six years? On what type of visa was he living here? Why was security not taken care of, if he entered in Pakistan without a visa?”

The question is that why is the PM raising these questions at this stage?

It cannot be a coincidence that he made these remarks immediately after meeting President Zardari. It seems that the President is finding himself cornered over the memo issue which apparently he prompted Ambassador Haqani to dictate to Mansur Ijaz. The President thus asked the PM to take a belligerent line to divert public attention from his and the memo scandal.

One hopes that the army will not intervene and will permit this government to complete its tenure as the last thing that the people of this unfortunate land deserve is another round of political martyrism which PPP excels in.